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H. S TEBBS, N. 0. LANE 8v V. GOOMBS.

TELEGRAPH KEY. No.41 1,770.

Patented Sept. 24, 1889 zzziniazz- 60 022058.

N. PETERs Pnnmulho n im. WashinglonfD. c

UNITED STATES PATENT rFIcE.

HARRY S. TEBBS, NATHAN G. LANE, AND VINTON COOMBS, OF lVASHlNG'lON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

TELEGRAPH --K EY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,770, dated September 24, 1889.

Application filed December 18, 1886. Renewed March 11, 1889. Serial No. 302,938. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HARRY S. TEBBS, NA- THAN 0. LANE, and VINroN CooMBs, citizens of the United States, residing at VVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Telegraphic Keys, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to telegraphic keys,

to and has for its object to provide a key which will avoid the objections heretofore existing in the keys ordinarily used-namely, that in operating said keys the hand of the operator is necessarily turned axially to bring the palm of the hand downward and the natural curve of the fingers into substantially a vertical plane, or a plane parallel with the vertical movements of the key. This position of the hand is not that normally assumed by the muscles when the arm is supported by the operators table, and experience has shown that continued use of the key produces excessive fatigue of these muscles thus unnaturally exerted in retaining the required position. It is well known to all operators who have been employed in the work of transmitting telegraphic messages that such operators suffer from what is known among them as loss of grip. By this they mean that from the unnatural and strained position of the arm, wrist, and hand the muscles thereof become stiffened and cramped, and the parts named become partially paralyzed, resulting in many weeks loss of work, and ofttimes totally inca- 3 5 pacitating them from further employment as telegraph operators. This twisted and deformed condition of the arm,wrist, and fingers, resulting from the causes aforementioned, not only incapacitates the operator from perma- 40 nent work, not only frequently deprives the telegraph companies of valuable employs, but in some cases, where the strained and unnatural position of the arm does not result in a real injury, it does cause the muscles to become so stiff as to greatly reduce the speed of the operator. The attempt has been made to overcome these objections by making the entire key-lever to revolve axially in a journal or hearing formed at that end which is pivotally connected with the table. This construction is manifestly possessed of many and great disadvantages. In the first place, it is absolutely necessary that an entirely new and rad ically-diiferent instrument from that in ordinary use must be constructed, putting the companies or operators to a great and unnecessary expense andinconvenience, and, secondly, compelling the operator to alter the adjustments of the instrument every time he adjusts the angle of the key-lever.

By the use of our improved instrument we avoid this useless expense and unnecessary inconvenience occasioned by the key we have just described.

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a telegraphic key embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is an end View thereof, and Fig. 3 a section.

The letter Aindicates the vibrating key-le 7o ver of any of the well-known telegraphic keys in common use.

B indicates a hard-rubber button, such as is ordinarily used on instruments of this nature. Said button, however, may be constructed of any suitable and WGllkl'lOWll ma-' terial. It has been the custom heretofore to attach a screw-threaded shank directly to the button and to attach said button to the keylever by causing said screw-threaded shank to enter and engage a screw-threaded opening in the end of said key-lever.

As before described,we design to make our button angularly adjustable relatively to the key-lever, and to this end we employ the ordinaryhard-rubber or other button having the usual screw-threaded socket c, and into this socket is screwed a screw-threaded shank G, the lower end of which is provided with a perforation c. 0

D indicates a bifurcated lug provided with a screw-threaded shank d. Said lug D is pro vided with two perforations adapted to register with the perforation c in the screwt-hreaded shank C, and apivot-pin e is passed through said perforations, hinging the screw threaded shank C to the bifurcated lug D. Interposed between the bottom of the button B and the top of the bifurcated lug D is a washer f, preferably slightly concaved on its under side to more closely fit and embrace the semicircular conformation of the top of the bifurcated lug D, as shown in Fig. 2.

The button, as above described, can readily be attached to any of the ordinary instruments now in common use by simply screwin g the screw-threaded shank d into the screwthreaded perforation found in the ends of all the well-known key-levers in present use. In order to permit of the adjustment of the button in any horizontal position, we provide a jam nut g, adapted to engage the screw threaded shank d underneath the key-lever, whereby the button can be adjusted to the desired horizontal position and the jam-nut then tightly screwed up against the under side of the key-lever, thus binding the parts in the desired position. By placing this jamnut on the screw-threaded shank (Z under the key-lever we accomplish still another result namely, should the screw-threaded shank cl be smaller than the screw-threaded perforation in the end of the key-lever it is merely necessary to pass the shank loosely through said perforation and then screw the jam-nut up tightly against the under side of the keylever, when it will be found that the parts are held as tightly and firmly in position as though the screw-threaded shank accurately fitted the screw-threaded perforation in the key-lever. In order that the button may be fitted to any of the ordinary keys now in common use, we design to make the screw-threaded shank d of a size that will approximately fit the smallest screw-threaded perforations employed in any of the well-known keys.

It will be seen from the above description that the button is secured to the key-lever by a uni versal-joint attachment, which may be varied as to construction as occasion or convenience may require; hence we do not limit our invention to the construction shown.

Having thus described the construction of our device, we will now proceed to describe its operation.-

The operator wishing to adjust his button first partially unscrews the button from its screw-threaded shank O and then turns the button, together with said shank, to any angle relative to said key-lever that he may desire. He then screws said button down upon the said shank D, causing the bottom of the button to bind upon the washer and the washer in turn to bind upon the curved surface of the bifurcated lug. Should this angular adjustment be not exactly suitable to the hand of the operator, the button can, in addition to this angular adjustment, be still further adjusted in any horizontal position by simply loosening the jam-nut and turning the inclined button and again tightening up said nut, thus combining in the oneinstrument a button adjustable both in a horizontal and in an inclined position. i

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a telegraph-key, the combination, with the vibrating key-lever, of a button mounte thereon and adjustable to either side of said lever, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a telegraphic key, the combination, with the key-lever, of a button connected thereto by a universal joint and mechanism whereby the button may be held in any position to which it may be adjusted, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the vibratory keylever of a telegraph-instrument, of a button adjustable upon said key-lever to bring the top or top surface of saidbutton into planes of different inclinations upon all sides of a vertical line passing through the pivoted axis of said button, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

4. In combination, the button B, screwed upon a threaded shank C, pivoted to the lug D, carrying a jam-nut g, substantially as shown and described.

5. In combination, the button B, screwed upon the screw-threaded shank O, pivoted to the lug D, carrying a jam-nut g and a washer f, interposed between the top of the bifurcated lug D and the bottom of the button B,

all constructed and arranged substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY S. TEBBS.- NATHAN 0. LANE. VINTON OOOMBS.

Witnesses:

EWELL A. DIoK, H. R. McCREADY. 

